Got a duck...what to do?

[Ma Facon]

Wonderful choice , Simplicity prevails , If you choose not to use the drippings for sauce then save them for that beautiful stock .

HAPPY HOLLIDAYS !!!

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

I wish I knew what types of ducks I have cooked. I've only ever done the supermarket frozen in a clear bag duck (from cities in the north through to the south of the provence). It is anybodys guess what varietys they were, or under what conditions they grew. I've only recently become aquainted with a free rang farm a hours drive from my home, and I want to try their duck for sure. There are a few other duck farms even farther from me that sell different varieties, though I am not sure if they are free ranged or not.

I do not know how well the fat renders out of the duck, or what it is like to cook with. With chicken, when I brown the bones, I save the rendered fat and us it as the oil in risotto and the like. With beef, I save the rendered fat for yorkshire puddings. I am guessing that duck fat can be used similarily, but I have not tryed it

Gonna have to change that for sure <*begin planning summer trip now: 2 coolers, ice, ...*>

[Headless Chicken]

Oh I see rendered duck fat used like cooking oil in high class cuisine all the time. The chefs at school think of it as liquid gold. I'm definatly keeping the duck fat as well but I highly doubt I'll use it much and I don't think it has a long shelf life.

Yes, Ma Facon, I'm keeping it simple more for the reason because I've never worked with duck before. If anything I'm going to pay more attention to the finner details like patting it so the skin roasts up nice and crispy, draining the fat so the duck won't be greasy...I'm more concered with doing this right instead of making a crowd pleaser.

[Suzanne]

If you treat the rendered fat as if it were butter and clarify it, it will keep a long time. By this I mean: after you've drained it from the cooking pan and strained out any bits of veg, put it back into a clean pot and simmer it very gently until there is no water left in it. Store it in a jar in the fridge, and it keeps quite well.

As for using it, oh my! Saute potatoes in it. Add it to mashed potatoes or other vegetable purees. Blanch vegetables and reheat them in a little duck fat. Use it in the pastry for a pot pie. Drizzle a little, melted, on an escarole salad instead of oil. Save it up until you have enough and make duck confit!! (Right, chrose? ) Send it to me so that I can make confit again sooner.

Different breeds of duck have different fat contents. The usual supermarket duck in the U.S. is, I believe, a pekin, which is bred to be fatty. Muscovies and mallards (and other "wild" breeds) are much leaner; they are better for braising, as roasting dries them out too much unless they are barded. The duck I over-braised was from Lake Brome in Canada, but I think it was a regular pekin.

Keeper reminded me of the way I most often prepare duck, which is never-fail:

1. Heat a covered skillet very, very hot.
2. Sprinkle duck quarters with salt.
3. Put in duck quarters skin-side down (they will sizzle!!!!!).
4. Cook about 5 minutes until quite brown.
5. Loosen the pieces from the bottom of the skillet with a spatula, but then return them skin-side down.
6. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes more; the skin will be very brown at this point.
7. Uncover, turn the pieces over, re-cover, turn the heat down to very low, and let cook another 30 to 45 minutes until very tender.
8. Uncover, drain off the fat (there will be a lot, if it's a pekin), turn the pieces skin-side down again and raise the heat to medium-high, just enough to recrisp the skin.
9. Serve.

You can marinate the duck ahead of time (wet or dry), add other seasonings, herbs, garlic, etc. to the skillet, but even plain you get a wonderfully tender duck, because you have actually steamed it in its own juices. (I got this method from the NY Times over 10 years ago, and Mark Bittman has had similar recipes in his column, which he got from Paula Peck about 10 years before that. I find that my timing guarantees a fully-cooked, tender bird.)

[kokopuffs]

Duck fat has a very high shelf life if kept refrigerated. Very long life.

[Mezzaluna]

Suzanne wrote:

Here's what I did with a duck last week:
Removed the whole skin with fat attached (it was as if I had a whole separate animal )
Cut the duck into pieces: the whole leg quarters, cut off the breast meat (I sauteed it just before serving, like a steak, sliced it, and fanned the meat over the portions), chop up the rest into meaty/bony chunks
Brown the pieces in clarified butter (since there was no fat on them now)
Brown chunks of rutabaga (yellow turnip) and carrot, and whole garlic cloves and small onions
Deglaze the pan with wine (a mix of leftovers, red and white)
Put everything in the slow cooker with some chicken stock, S&P, and dried thyme
Let it cook.

Suzanne, did you discard the skin? Oh, the gribines....

[kokopuffs]

Duck fat, although flavorful, is like goose fat, veeeeerrry heavy. Very heavy. So when frying potatoes I tend to mix about 1 TBS duck fat with a mixture of butter and olive/peanut oil.

[Suzanne]

Originally Posted by Mezzaluna

Suzanne, did you discard the skin? Oh, the gribines....

Oh, heavens no!!! It's in the freezer, awaiting rendering. You see, I had to toss the used fat from my last batch of duck confit -- it accidentally got contaminated -- and so must rebuild the collection for the NEXT batch of confit. I gotta say, that Canadian duck had one great coat, possibly more than the weight of the flesh and bones. If I can get another like it, I'll be most of the way there.

[Ma Facon]

I know how to make confit and I was just interested in how some of you have been preserving your duck ?

[Headless Chicken]

So far so good, I've stuffed the duck with some oranges, a lemon, couple onions, chopped garlic, sage, and ginger. Trusted it and its now drying.

Adding to tomorrows menu
Garlic mashed potatoes
Wilted spinach
Stuffing (from a box, don't have that much time on my hands)
and a light chocolate/ameretto mousse to finish...actually, I'm doing it right now

[Headless Chicken]

http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/dat...inner.jpg?6862

[kuan]

Hey is that dressing I see? Very good little chicken.

Ma Facon, I like to make a ham out of the breast as well. Airdried.